At Stepping Stones, we base our curriculum on the theory that children will use every aspect of their senses and bodies to learn about the world in which they live. Our teachers understand that each child is born with an incredible amount of curiosity and a unique style of learning.

“What Did You Do Today?”

For our preschoolers, our main units are based on a letter of the alphabet (rotated biweekly) and then broken down into smaller units daily; such as dinosaurs, ducks or doctors for the letter 'D'. The initial consonant sound is reinforced throughout the week with rhymes, stories and pictures. The majority of the weekly activities are centered around words that begin with the letter of the week. We use books, art, music, outside visitors and other related activities involving small and large muscle groups to teach our children about the topics.

The children’s day begins with ‘circle time’ where they talk about the upcoming daily activities. Our older children also stand and recite their Pledge of Allegiance along with a discussion about days of the week, calendar events and the weather. This time allows the children to settle in for the morning and get into their structured routine for the day.

Circle time is followed by an alphabet based arts and crafts project focusing on the letter of the week. Pasting and coloring a monkey while learning about the ‘m’ sound… After completing their project (fine motor skills), the children are able to develop their gross motor skills while out on the playground. They run, swing and slide until it is time to come inside for the next phase of their structured learning time.

Our young two’s enjoy their story and music time; delighting in a book, flannel board story, song or puppet show. As part of their language development, the children interact and add to the story line and characters. Their morning routine is followed by a half hour period of free choice activities within their room.

Our older preschoolers enjoy a rotation of language, phonics, math and science/social studies during their structured time. Each class is divided into smaller groups during this hour. Placement in each group is based on maturity level and readiness.

Language: Language is taught with the ‘Peabody Early Experiences’ kit and the ‘Peabody Language’ kit, both published by American Guidance. Through the use of puppets, tapes and pictures, these teacher led kits help the children learn about character development, sequence of ideas, emotions and predicting the outcome of a situation.

Phonics: Charts, picture cards and rhymes are used to reinforce the initial consonant sounds. The older children begin tracing and writing letters while the younger children do fine motor tactile activities such as a textured letter or sponge letters. Once a week the older children have Spanish lessons during this rotation where they learn basic colors, numbers and objects in Spanish.

Math: The older two’s and three’s concentrate on numbers to 10, shapes, colors, graphs and patterns while our four’s and five’s work on more advanced concepts such as numbers to 20, addition and subtraction up to 10, sorting, measurement, money and time.

Science/Social Studies: Our preschooler’s lessons in this topic are scheduled monthly. They explore many concepts such as animals, insects, families, countries, habitats and nature.

Our afternoon is welcomed with daily music activities and outside playground time. There is also an enrichment activity for each group (a book, song, fingerplay, craft) that coordinates with the letter of the day. Each class closes the day with ‘circle time’; reviewing the day’s activities and events and what to expect tomorrow.

At Stepping Stones, we offer a balance of structured educational programs and free choice play activities, giving the children the foundation they need to succeed in kindergarten.

Extra curricular activities such as karate, ballet and gymnastics are offered. Please check for monthly classes.

Our infants and young toddlers also have a full day to look forward to…

We maintain a low teacher to child ratio to ensure maximum individual attention throughout the day. Although their schedule is not as structured as the preschoolers, our toddlers and infants enjoy developmental activities during their day. Our language activities are centered around the ‘Baby Einstein’ flash cards which help build vocabulary. Gross and fine motor activities such as ‘Simon Says’ and finger painting are both incorporated into the routine as well as music and dancing. Toddler circle time includes a group story from a book or flannel board while infants enjoy ‘tummy time’ and a quiet nap.